When it comes to bait companies, Mainline are at the forefront of new developments, ideas and products. Since the early 90's they have been at the top of the bait firm charts with a number of best-selling releases, so this month we take a look inside the mind of the man behind the machine, Mainline's front man. Kev Knight.

An experienced match man turned carp angler, Kev saw the error of his ways and dumped fishing for bits and commenced his pursuance of the queen of freshwater some years ago. It was lucky for we carp anglers that he did, because with him he brought a wealth of information and ideas from the match angling world and made them available to the carp scene.

Kev has been a staunch supporter of carp matches since their arrival on the British carp scene three years ago, so what better place to join him than in practice for the finals of the BCAC at this year's final venue Dovecote's Lake. Read on for a further insight into the world according to Kev Knight.

Personal Dossier.

Name: Kevin Bartholomew Knight
Age: Unknown but clocking on a bit!
Home Town: Darkest Essex
Years Carp Fishing: 25, but what's a carp?
Likes outside Carp Fishing: Bacardi Breezers and lying down on my back for long periods
Biggest Fish: 44.08 English.

Kev, before we start with your cap fishing history, tell us a little bit about your match fishing prowess. I believe that you were one of the big cheeses on the Essex circuit a year or two ago and used to frequently go out drowning maggots and catching razor blades.

That's right, mate. I've fished literally bundles of matches in my time and I started fishing, like most small boys, at the age of 8 so I have been fishing now for 27 years. I spent ages at the cutting edge of float-style match fishing and was really serious about matches from about the age of 18. I won a lot of junior matches then joined the senior match team at Browns Hydra of Hornchurch. A couple of the local heroes took me under their wing and I joined the league and went from there.

Rumour has it that you have fished against some pretty big names in the match fishing world. Spill the beans then!

Well, I suppose the biggest name was Bob Nudd. I fished against him a couple of times and beat him twice, once off the next peg, which was nice! I've been up against Ivan Marks, Ray Mumford and the likes, winning my section and sometimes the overall match and I ended up progressing up the league table, winning regularly.

So why change to carp fishing, then? It sounded like you were doing very well, thank you very much. What brought on the change to fishing for proper fish?

Well, in my early years I lived in London and as I grew a little bit older my folks moved to Essex. Now I couldn't believe it when I got there because I could see greenery and trees everywhere like I had never seen before. There were lakes all over the place, and whilst I was riding around on my bike I would look at these lakes and talk to the blokes fishing there. One day I saw a chap catch a tench whilst ledgering with sausage meat and after talking to him and bleeding him of information I brought an SS4 with a set of hard chromes and a Fuji reel seat and I was in business as a specimen angler. I thought I was the dogs at the time with all this specialist equipment; it's crazy really when you look at the gear available today. That Christmas all my money was spent on stepped-up fishing tackle to allow me to fish for these bigger fish and I kitted myself out with Heron alarms for specimen hunting.

Later in the year I shot off to Tesco for some sausage meat before diving off to the lake to catch a whopper. At that time rigs were just link-ledgered setups with 8lb Maxima and a size-4 Au Lion D'Or. That first session was to a water in the southeast which is quite well known now, but I cannot name it because of publicity restrictions, and I caught a load of tench from a gap in some lilies. After three or four weeks of catching tench, I had a carp of 5lbs. I will always remember that fish - I thought it was going to pull me in, it seemed so big at the time. From then on I was hooked on carp fishing. I loved carp but also liked the competitive element of carp fishing where you are pitting your wits against the carp.

Was that when you gave up match fishing then?

No. I juggled the two for a while, fishing matches on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and I spent Friday night and Saturday fishing for carp. One time whilst I was fishing a match I got beaten by a bloke off the next peg who was fishing floating crust and catching lots of carp. I thought "That's it. I'm going all out for the carp", and I have done ever since.

I got a club ticket for the lake in question and the first time I fished it with the floating crust I caught five carp. I was truly hooked on carp fishing and as time progressed I started to meet more and more carp anglers and started experimenting with carp baits. The match fishing went by the wayside because all I could think about was trying to catch more carp. By the time I was 28 I was a full-blown carp angler and didn't fish matches at all.

So you were experimenting with baits at that time, but when did the Mainline thing start?

About 15 years ago, after fishing on Broxbourne with a pair of blokes called Zenon Bojko and Steve Morgan, we got chatting and Mainline was formed. Zen was a full-time angler at that stage and had caught a lot of fish and got a name for himself in the carp fishing world, and Steve was a keen angler with a lot of contacts in the food and meat industry. This combination of talents meant that we had enough knowledge between us to start out making baits. We initially just made them for ourselves and some friends and they were so successful that other anglers said we should bring them out and offer them for sale to the public. We decided to do just that and started with base mixes and additives and it just snowballed from there.

We then met Ritchie MacDonald and he was using readymades. Everyone knows what a bore making bait can be, so we hit upon the idea of making a complete bait for them, especially as a lot of anglers were asking us to roll their baits for them. After about 18 months of hunting all over the world for a machine to make baits, we eventually found one. It was quite funny really because we didn't actually know what we were looking for, but eventually we stumbled across a machine that would do the job. Anyway, after many sleepless nights we got it right and started going into rolled bait production. This was in the early 90's so I suppose you can say that Mainline became a big and proper bait firm around then.

I think it is fair to say that it is a big bait firm now, in fact probably the biggest in the country and you have had some specifically successful baits. Looking through the history of the big sellers it used to be SBS Bird seed in the late 80's, then Premier Fishmeals at the turn of the 90's; Nutrabaits Big Fish Mix was the next biggest in the early 90's, but since then the top seller in my eyes has been Active-8 followed by Assasin-8.

Well our first bait was the Liver and Marine Mix, which was very good. Then came the Essential Opal which is still going strong today, but I suppose it was The Grange that really put us on the map in a big way and stamped our authority on the bait world. It caught literally everywhere and I - plus I am sure many others - caught my first 40 on it. I couldn't catch a 20lb common - small these days I know, but there weren't that many of them around in the area that I was fishing back then. Anyway, using The Grange I went from not catching a common over 20lbs to catching loads of them.

Kenny Dorset and the lads were using Essential Opal whilst baiting up with The Grange and after a period of prebaiting, six of us used it on the hook and we all caught first time out. This was unheard of on the lake we were fishing. It was brilliant and at the time was completely different to anything that anyone else was using. Damian Clarke came down for a guest session on the water and we gave him some and, once again, we all caught fish. This is where our idea of the bait theory came into play. Our theory was for a dedicated base mix and with more research and development, the Active-8 was born. This was the cornerstone of our theory on baits and it blew the High Protein theory completely apart.

So why was Active-8 so special, then? What exactly was in it to make it such a good bait?

Get a life Rob! Just look in the papers and see the results. The bait caught big fish time and time again. For example, The Amphibian in The Manor was a difficult fish to catch but it came out ten different times on the same bait and people started to see it as a bit of a mug fish. The reality was that it loved the bait so much it just had to eat it. Originally it only used to come out a couple of times a season, but as soon as it got a taste for the Active-8 it came out all the time, showing that a good product will catch fish time and time again.

More and more big-named anglers were seeing the effectiveness of the bait and more and more of them contacted us to see if they could start using it. It was incredible the phenomenal success that the bait had when it first came out and it is still going strong now.

The addition of some Robin Red to it brought out The Grange Red and that needs no introduction whatsoever. When anglers such as Tim Paisley use it on waters like Raduta, you know it is a good bait. He caught the current biggest common in the world on it. It just seems to attract the bigger fish who know what a good food source it is and just find it irresistible.

But what was in it to make it so special? You talk about the dedicated base mix theory, but can you explain to the readers what you mean?

Get a life Rob. If I told you our secrets I'd have to kill you. Next…..

You don't have to tell us your secrets, just the principals.

You simply make a bait the carp like to eat….now bugger off!

Fair enough! Let's talk about the Assasin-8.

Assasin-8 is our No.1 selling product and our latest commercially available bait. Just check out the record number of 40's that were caught on it just last year. There were over 100 captures of 40's which were reported to us, plus of course the ones that are restricted from public knowledge by publicity bans. We had 11 fish over 50lbs, and no other bait firm or individual bait can claim that sort of success.

And this is another of your dedicated base mix theories?

That's right, but it is an active bait which has cultures in it so that the bait itself is alive.

How does the Active-8 differ from Assasin-8?

Texture, flavour and ingredients. We always now follow our theory of an active bait scenario and we like something that will work for the angler and increase his chances of the fish picking the bait up. There are common denominators of ingredients which protect and enhance other ingredients and the key is to find out which ingredients complement each other. Bait science isn't just a case of a spot of this and a splash of that. To make a brilliant bait, as opposed to a good one, you need to know these secrets, and I'm not about to divulge them here. Certain ingredients are useless once boiled, unless you protect them with others, so that is why we put them all in. Anyone can make a bait that will catch carp, but not everyone can make a bait that the carp find irresistible.

Why did you call it the Active-8?

The simple reason is that there are eight ingredients that make it so active. The bait itself is very hard to control. It lives, and with the eight ingredients together it seemed to balance itself and this is why we called it the Active-8. When the Assassin came out we actually thought it was a perfect bait, so we called it the Perfect-10 whilst it was out with the fieldtesters. They used to report back and say that it was assassinating lakes and they started calling it the Assassinate so we had to change the name because that is what they came to know it as.

So what's new from the Mainline stable? Three very good baits in a row, but is there any further you can go?

Well, you always need to keep ahead in this game, so we are always on the lookout for new products and edges that will help anglers catch carp. The new bait that the fieldtesters are using this year is the NRG and they are having some fantastic results. The biggest fish so far is Dave Lane's Sonning Eye 55 and there have been three 50's caught already, plus loads of 40's. We cannot keep count of the number of 30's that are caught on it, and this is before it is even out on general release. It's been with a select group of testers now for four months, but and will not be for sale or general release until May or June next year. Everywhere it goes it seems to catch a load of fish, and we have given it to our team for the British Carp Angling Championships this year and you have seen the results that they have had on it. Two firsts and a second for Mainline A and we are first in the team league on the basis of this success. The first ever time that a ball of NRG hit the water was at the first round of the BCAC at Farlows. We had that much confidence in it and knew that it would do well, and my results with Rob Tough prove that. We came in second from an unfancied area - and incidentally, the other two qualifiers were on our baits as well.

Rob then took it to Darenth and had two 30's with it the first time it was used on the water, and Max Cottis had numerous 20's and 30's on it, taking 14 fish in one night on his first trip. Pete Holehouse and Ian Huntington came first at the Wyreside eliminator using it, whilst our lads on Active came second and third, and over at Yateley our other team, Paul Rayment and Chris Bannon, came first with it. It really is something special.

You really have had a lot of success in the BCAC with your lads on the bait. Individual winners two years running, team event winners the first year and possibly this year as well, plus a number of other qualifiers all on Mainline. I know from experience that the only bait to use on the West Warwick is the Essential Opal and there are a lot of waters that are dominated by a Mainline bait of some sort or other. Enough praise for your baits though, let's talk about you as an angler. You have been a keen supporter of the British Championships since year one. Why do you like it so much?

As a match man originally I like the concept of matches but do not necessarily like the grief and the backstabbing that goes with it. With carp matches there doesn't seem to be the same bitchiness. It's a good laugh where you and some of the chaps get together and have a bit of a contest, and it is very fair and even. I don't get a lot of time to fish due to work commitments, but the championships gives me the opportunity to get out there and fish hard. A lot of the time when you go fishing you just go through the motions, but competition carp fishing will not let you do that. You have to be on your toes as you have only got a short period of time to make the most of the swim in front of you so you have to fish, not just go fishing.

Let's talk about your tactics for matches then. You have been very successful in your match history, qualifying three years in a row for the finals of the BCAC plus a win at the first Fish With the Stars event. How can you be consistently good in carp matches? A lot of anglers think that it is just down to luck.

Well, for a start, there is an element of luck involved in the draw, but the watercraft draw system makes it a lot fairer than a straight out of the bag draw. You get to choose the swim you want, and because anglers have different views on what they think are the best pegs you still have a chance of a good spot even if you come out of the draw fairly low down. It is important with peg choice to fish a swim that complements your style of fishing. For example, it's no good at all choosing a long-range swim if you cannot cast a long way, and a few times I have seen good pegs wasted on anglers who cannot make the best out of them. You have to make the best out of the situation in front of you, and that is what makes a good match angler.

Do you go into a match with any particular strategy, or do you read the water on the day when you get there? I know that you are a fan of the Method and PVA bag fishing, so would you always use this method in a match?

I tend to go into a match with an idea in my mind on how I am going to fish it, but I will change my tactics according to the swim and situation in front of me. I think that the Method is an excellent way of catching carp, but you need to do it right to get the best from it. Groundbaiting is important, and in my match days one of the most important things was the way you baited the swim. The same applies for carp angling, but so many anglers just chuck a load of bait in and think that'll do, but they rarely make the most of their fishing time. They might catch fish, but they could have caught a lot more if they had applied their bait properly.

Talk to me about "proper" Method fishing then. I know that you like to use groundbaits a lot, so is it just a case of knocking some up and slinging it out, or is there any special way of preparing the groundbait?

The answer to that is simple. Everything that you do in carp angling, especially with bait, is important, and as a match man the groundbait that you put in is vital. Just look at all the top match guys. They riddle their groundbait and have different types; cloud, feeder, etc.; bait that breaks up on the surface to form a cloud, baits that stay in a ball on the bottom of the lake. It is important to get it right and make sure that you apply the correct bait in the right amounts. I suppose the most important thing is the type of water that you are fishing and the stock of other fish in it. I don't mind catching non-carp species if it means that the carp will move in on the baits, and getting the roach and bream feeding is a good method to catch carp where there are plenty of nuisance species in the lake. Take now, for example. I know at Dovecotes that there are a lot of roach and bream in the lake, so one of my options will be to create a feeding area for the smaller fish in the hope that the carp will come in on the feed. A lot of the time there will be smaller carp hanging around with the shoals of roach or bream, and I want a chance of catching them. I don't care how big they are (obviously the bigger the better), but a carp is a carp and in a match a couple of ounces can make a difference, so I want to be in a position to catch any carp I can, irrespective of size. They all count and a small one of a couple of pounds can be enough to win you the match.

Well let's talk about your baiting situation here. This is the first time that you have seen the venue and you are on a practice session. What are you doing and what do you hope to achieve?

The main aim on a practice session is, of course, to catch carp and find out which are the best methods, but it is also good to find out which methods don't work. Certain waters respond best to different tactics, so whilst I want to find out what will give me the best chance on the day, I also want to find out what doesn't work so that I don't waste time using that method during an important match. I am trying three different methods at the moment and on one rod have balled in a load of groundbait, about 12 balls, into one short-range spot with the catapult in the hope that the smaller fish will get on the feed and attract the carp into the area. I want to create a feeding spot, and as most of the lads on the lake are usually carp anglers the chances are they don't normally use match style groundbaiting.

On another rod I am using the Method, similar I know, but there are a lot of small fish in the lake and the Method is an ideal way of adopting little and often type of fishing rather than my other choice of piling a load in at the start and waiting for it to pay off. I've spodded a load of Response Pellets out there to create a feeding area, but these break down, so I will constantly be topping the area up every couple of hours with a couple of spodfuls of bait just to keep a fresh smell in the water, and if I catch a fish off the area I will once again add a few more spods to make up for the grub that has been eaten.

On the third rod, which is the longest-range rod, I have opted just for boilies on the hook over a bed of boilies, but I am prepared to put quite a bit of it in, in the hope that there are quite a few carp in the lake and if they do move in I would like to hold them there.

Hopefully, with one or more of these tactics I will find out what the fish like and it will give me more of an advantage in the finals. Of course, if nothing comes from any of the methods within 12-hours or so I will change tactics and try again. I treat the practice sessions a little bit like a match and need to keep working to see what the fish want.

So what baits would you take with you to a match? Do you take everything plus the kitchen sink, or do you just rely on one bait which you think will work?

I, like anyone else, have my favourites, and the new NRG seems to catch everywhere so that is my first choice for a boilie bait. I have got other baits with me such as our Pineapple Pop-Ups rolled by Heathrow Bait Services which, as you know, are excellent instant baits, and I also have a few other flavours of bait in my bag just in case.

The main boilie bait will, however, be NRG, because it's good, the fish in the lake will not have seen anything like it before, and I know that no one else will have any when it comes to competition day and that might give me an edge.

For feed baits I always take groundbait and a couple of different types of pellets, the Response Pellet, Hemp Pellets etc., and I like to add liquid attractors as well, such as the PT10, Assassin Dip or one of our flavours or sweeteners. It all adds to the attractiveness of the groundbait and helps to get the fish on the go. Today I have also got a gallon of maggots and some corn to add to the groundbait to get the small fish going.

You are mainly known for your role at Mainline and the bait development side of things, but you also do a bit of product-testing as well don't you?

I certainly do. Mainline have a very good relationship with Fox and I am personally good friends with Max Cottis, who sends me a lot of the new Fox gear to have a look at. I am currently testing a new rod for stalking and it is a good piece of kit. It's a short, 10ft rod with the line running inside the blank itself so that if you need to push through bushes to get yourself into a stalking situation you are not risking your lines catching on the branches. They come out with some excellent pieces of kit, and I am fortunate enough to be involved in the testing and sometimes the design of new products with them.

Kev, Thanks very much for your time and I wish you all the best with both your practice session and also the finals. I am sure that all the readers will be interested to see how you get on again this year, so best wishes and thanks for your time.